“This is an important goal, as it allowed us to win and put the run of two consecutive defeats behind us,” said Lopez.

“We played well, with patience and concentration, creating quite a few scoring opportunities. At the start we lacked a bit of weight in attack, which is why we changed the situation after the break.”

The result puts Lazio three points clear in the third Champions League spot, as Napoli and Udinese were held to stalemates, while Roma lost to Milan.

“With this victory we can continue to dream of third place, especially considering the results of the other teams. There are many games to go and we’ll have to see how we all go into the final sprint.

“We suffered a great deal when playing in the Europa League, especially as we had no strength in depth. We are in better shape physically even if there are still important players on the treatment table. Hopefully when they return we’ll still be in the race for third.”